Endre Ady (1877-1919), a legendary figure in Hungarian literature, was born in the remote village of Érmindszent in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

Ady produced a large body of work: over 1000 poems in ten books, plus numerous short stories and articles. He travelled widely, and between 1908 and 1919 was closely associated with the journal Nyugat, which featured some of the best writing of the period. The contemporary nature of Ady's contributions kept him in the public eye as someone who advocated modernity and bewailed the backwardness of his country and its disastrous politics.

The slaughter of WWI, and the belligerence of its combatants, particularly horrified Ady, and he made many enemies in the conservative classes. His language was equally uncompromising: he used melancholy images in the Symbolist manner, but gave them a sharper and more topical edge. He founded no school, but greatly enlarged what Hungarian poetry could say.

The best known of his poems include At the Gare de L'Est, Upward Thrown Stone, Blood and Gold, In an Old Wagon and Beautiful Farewell Message, the last two dealing with his tormented relationship with Leda.

From: Poetrymagic.com

Biography: Link "The history of the Hungarian litarature"

Poems : Link: "Endre Ady and his poetry"